Aircraft trim problem causes landing diversion for Hawaiian Air

Seattle-Tacoma International Airport spokesman Perry Cooper said Hawaiian Airlines Flight 39767, a Boeing 767, was inbound from Maui to Portland, Oregon, on Tuesday, December 28, when the flight crew received a warning of a possible aircraft trim problem.

He said procedures call for the plane to divert to the nearest airport, which was Sea-Tac in Washington state. A quick check of air miles, however, indicates that the distance from Hawaii to Portland is around 2,595 air miles, which is closer than the distance from Hawaii to Seattle at 2,680 air miles.

Nonetheless, Cooper said the plane landed at about 11:10 am and went to an airport gate. He said workers are checking the plane out and will determine whether it can fly on to Portland.